Editor Note: We’re all still processing the tragic passing of Marshawn Kneeland. You can view the reported details of what happened here, and we will cover any news-worthy developments down the road if there are any. If you are struggling with any mental health issues, visit here for resources to help. We are now returning to our regular coverage of the Dallas Cowboys season.
The Dallas Cowboys made a serious commitment to working in the future on Tuesday.
In trading for Quinnen Williams (Logan Wilson, too!) the Cowboys surrendered a second-round pick next year and the better of their two firsts (shout out Micah Parsons) the year after. When you look at the totality of things since the Parsons trade you can argue that the Cowboys have come out of the other side with a plan in hand at long last, and they have some wind in their sails with the salary cap space that they didn’t devote to him. This isn’t justifying the process or agreeing with trading away Parsons, we are simply trying to make lemonade with the lemons at hand here.
If you are someone who feels like the Cowboys are better off as a result of the last few month’s decisions, then a big argument for that in your mind is indeed likely the extra cap space that Dallas has. With them having “only” two first-round picks before the fourth round in 2026, they are going to have to hit on those as well as spend some money to ensure that the roster can contend in the window that these trades have created for them (2026 and 2027).
Extending George Pickens has to be the new priority task
A fantastic utilization of the team’s new salary cap space would be an extension for wide receiver George Pickens. With trades tended to and processed, Pickens has to be the team’s new number one task.
Part of the reason that Dallas will have to wait until the fourth round after the first in 2026 is Pickens as Dallas spent their third-round pick to get him. They don’t have to extend him for this reason as Pickens’ play on the field has more than justified wanting him around for the window in question.
There are no more big-time deals or extensions looming for this team. George Pickens is the last one that the team has to take care of, and when they do they can truly start to look for external help whether by way of free agency or through the draft with their multiple firsts.
We can stress the fact that Pickens should be a priority all that we want, but we know that the Cowboys have a history of dragging these things out to the eleventh hour. It is important to note that Pickens will, if they intend on stalling to any degree, ultimately be different than the likes of Prescott, Lamb, and Parsons.
The reason that Pickens will be different is because his current contract will expire when the New League Year hits in 2026. The Cowboys are either going to have to franchise tag him or let him walk. Their recent drama with the big three was different in that they were extension talks and not new deal talks.
From a timeline perspective the Cowboys would (again, if things got silly) have to tag Pickens before the deadline in the spring and then make a decision on him by mid-July. It is then that teams reach a point of no return with players who are tagged as if they do not have new deals by then the situation is decided. They can only play on the tag. If Dallas tags Pickens and the two sides do not come to a deal by mid-July, then there cannot be any training camp drama or holdout because of the NFL’s rules. It will be a tag year for Pickens which would carry some drama, but it would be matter-of-fact.
We know the Cowboys have salary cap space. We know that they traded Micah Parsons to establish some (this did not have to be the case, but we are going off of what they said).
The top-level next course of action for them from all vantage points is now using some of it to help make their newly-defined window as open as possible. The season is still going on, but we will learn in the first 100 days of 2026 at latest whether or not they truly are serious about 2026 and 2027 with regards to George Pickens and what they decide to do.
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